


Sleep well

by two2ducks



Series: 30 day writing challenge [9]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Comfort, M/M, Mystery, Non Idol AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:41:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23484007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/two2ducks/pseuds/two2ducks
Summary: Day 9: You're cold.Sometimes he waits, not even laying down. Taeil listens to the emptiness of his home and tries to fool something that doesn’t exist. Even at the times he does lay down and leaves his eyes barely open, nothing comes. There isn’t a reason he would actually want to see it, it would ruin all of his expectations anyway.
Relationships: Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Series: 30 day writing challenge [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675693
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Sleep well

This night is just like the others, sadly. Taeil comes back from work tired, the house is cold because of the snow outside, the lamps don’t lighten up the rooms enough, the dinner seems too much of a bother to make, the TV doesn’t show anything interesting enough, so he goes to sleep. A part of him doesn’t want to fall asleep again, however, the other one can’t wait to feel the inexistent comfort to come.

He doesn’t know what it is, or _who_ it is. During the first night, Taeil though someone has broken into his house and woke up alerted as soon as he felt weight besides him in the bed. He felt as the bed covers moved around, Taeil heard the sound of mattress dipping, someone exhaling loudly next to him, as if another person would be getting ready to rest next to him for the night. He couldn’t fall asleep for the rest of that night, making sure multiple times that he’s the only one wandering around the house.

Tonight, he hurriedly drops his work clothes in the laundry box in the bathroom. Taeil stands, looking in the wide mirror, thinking if he should take a shower now or leave that for the morning. It is harder to get up and take it in the early hours, but he really wants to experience the familiar feeling as soon as possible, he deserves it. He settles for rinsing his face in the lukewarm water, technically, he needs a shave too, but maybe tomorrow. Maybe.

Taeil couldn’t sleep for the next few days either. The feeling of having somebody else with him didn’t want to leave yet. Calling the police was an option, but he couldn’t find a single a trace of another body in the house, so police wouldn’t too. The other guess was that he was too overworked and started to imagine things. Taeil did have a few vacation days saved up and decided that it be soon for them to come handy. Even though he started to sleep on the sofa in the living room, the uncalled presence didn’t leave. 

Perhaps, skipping the last meal of the day wasn’t the best choice, but Taeil won’t do anything about it now. The man sits on the bed, he knows that the clothes he calls pyjamas are in a reach of a hand, but he doesn’t feel like wearing them tonight. The bedroom is cold nonetheless, the thing they call heating in this city doesn’t do its job, but the skins to skin contact sounds too nice right now. For some more time, Taeil just sits on his bed, staring at the wall opposite him. He doesn’t let his mind make any more guesses about what is going on in reality, because there’s no answer, he thinks.

When Taeil booked the cheapest room in a fancy hotel, he was more than sure that everything would stay at home. On the first night of his arrival at the different country he decided to celebrate it and went around the city to look for some fun, which later turned out in too much alcohol with strangers and a sudden wave of sickness. He didn’t take any medicine, because of the drinks, instead he suffered alone inside the still expensive hotel room. In one piece of memory – he’s kneeling in front of the toilet, trying to keep his eyes open, then he’s in bed, his head on soft pillows. However, both times someone helped him and he knows it. He felt it. Taeil was pretty sure that he was cuddling into a strangers arms as his throat felt full and the bitter taste didn’t leave his mouth.

Sometimes he waits, not even laying down. Taeil listens to the emptiness of his home and tries to fool something that doesn’t exist. Even at the times he does lay down and leaves his eyes barely open, nothing comes. There isn’t a reason he would actually want to see it, it kind of would ruin all of his expectations, probably. But if he saw just a glimpse of skin, a lock of hair, a colour of a shirt, then at least he’d know that there is someone for him. But it never comes. Then Taeil starts to feel stupid, gives up and goes to sleep.   
Taeil rubs his palms on the exposed thighs, they’re cold. It’s the right time to get underneath the heavy blanket and let the body heat it up. He loses his interest of the wall quickly, Taeil gets up to go and turn off the ceiling lamp, it’s switch is just by the doors. His muscles move unwillingly, because of all the work he had done earlier. The light switch moves easily enough not to use any extra power to turn off the light. Taeil takes one last look at the furniture in his room, the path he’ll take in order to get to the bed.   
With a quiet _click_ the whole house is completely dark, Taeil can make out the looming figures of his bed, wardrobe or the desk by the window. He waits for a second before going to the bed. There are times when he gets back from work and is so exhausted that he can feel a hand guide him towards the bed as soon as he switches off the light. Tonight’s not the night.

Taeil was terrified the next night. He could still feel how someone is wrapping their body around him as he is falling asleep, but as soon as he opened his eyes and looked around the small hotel room there was nothing out of the ordinary. When he tried to sleep again, the feeling was back. He asked if it would be possible to switch rooms, then paid some extra cash in order to do so. However, nothing changed. So began the battle of how long can Taeil go without sleeping. On the fourth day of his holiday, he went out again, having fun all night and, to his surprise, the strange feeling wasn’t there, he felt free again. But with the night of fun came an awful hangover. Taeil didn’t sleep, it was bad, but he had finally found a way to ease the unsettling sensation. He didn’t let himself rest for the flight home, nor at the home. Taeil thought he would feel better if he didn’t sleep, but it only got worse.

As soon as Taeil is under the cover, he rolls on his side, facing the wall he was staring at earlier. He gets in a comfortable position, checks if the alarm is still set on his phone and with a sigh closes his eyes. It doesn’t come immediately, Taeil has to get even drowsier before he can feel a leg slowly slip between his own. Soon enough, he can feel the rest of the body join – one arm sneaks around his torso, the other is placed near his head, nothing touches his back, but behind it it isn’t empty. Taeil sighs in the familiar comfort, there’s nothing new, but he can’t get tired of this feeling.

Another day and Taeil is in a deep slumber. He was starting to feel too sick from the lack of sleep and couldn’t function normally without the rest. It was an accident, a boring movie on TV and the sofa being too soft. It felt like the comforter was placed neatly around him, the pillowed moved so it fits under his cheek perfectly, like someone was running their fingers through Taeils hair, massaging his neck, temples time to time. He didn’t have the power to get up and fight against the unknown. It felt too good. To be taken care of like that right when he needed it. Taeil allowed himself to enjoy it, he felt bad for letting his guard fall so easily, but whoever was doing this to him, knew what he needed in that exact moment.  
The sleep he had was good, but one night wasn’t enough, so when he returned back from work the next day, the thought of letting himself slip another time won.

“You’re cold.” Taeil smiles at the well-known deep toned voice. He can even feel the breath of another being blowing by his ear. He automatically smiles, knowing what will come. Taeils cold legs are rubbed against another pair, just like that his chest gets a massage on his own and his back now is pressed against warm skin. Taeil rests against the other body, letting himself be devoured fully. He thinks about asking for a back massage, but he’s too tired for that. Perhaps, it could be done tomorrow. “You should’ve worn pyjammas.”

The first time Taeil heard it’s voice, he didn’t believe it could exist, how ironic. It was like out of a movie, something you could only imagine, never realise in real life.   
Taeil was being lazy in his office chair at home and came to a conclusion that he would like to have a head massage. So, he sunk into the chair, closed his eyes and waited until the sleepiness came to him. Not long after, he could feel how he was sitting in someones lap. Actually, doing so is never as comfy as people make it seem, but then it felt just right. Taeil was about to ask if it could pay with his hair, when it decided to speak up first, “What’s on your mind?” The voice came from behind Taeil and, although he knew, he had to check if it was from the other body, so he made the mistake of opening his eyes. Obviously, there was nothing. Taeil decided to leave the sleep for later, rather trying to focus on working and not thinking about the husky voice from earlier. It’s like someone had read his mind and, through collecting all of his fantasies ever, had made it. He has never heard something like that before, he could listen to it forever. Work was nothing against the honeyed-tone playing again and again in Taeils head.

It doesn’t speak often, Taeil has learnt that. Taeil asks it short and simple questions and gets back the same type of answers. But there’s nothing more to ask for. He is laying in the bed, in a completely dark room. Nobody, besides him, has stepped inside of it for years now. There’s no need to, Taeil already has everything you would be looking for in a person, who you would want to invite to you bedroom. He can feel how the man behind him breathes, how his chest rises and falls, how his limbs move time to time, how his lips leave tiny on Taeils skin. Taeil can feel each finger against his ribs, in his hair, he himself can run a hand along the others exposed hips, he can draw patterns on the skin that isn’t his. Taeil knows their hair is dark brown, just like his, and the eyes are a little bit lighter brown than his own. He is tall, that’s why it’s so easy to wrap around Taeil, and when Taeil is laying beneath him, he’s heavy, sometimes too heavy. It’s even possible to tell what he smells like. Often it’s sweet like a mix of honey and nuts, then it’s like a forest after a rainstorm, sometimes it’s like coffee and sweets Taeil has had earlier that day.

Taeil shuffles around, so he would be facing the other now. He pays extra attention not to open his eyes. When his nose hits a naked chest, Taeil settles down and lets himself be taken care of as he falls asleep. Taeil knows that he won’t be here when he wakes up, but Taeil knows, Taeil has been reassured – he never leaves.

**Author's Note:**

> i dont have any answers
> 
> isolation has me missing fast food  
> chicken nuggets, please


End file.
